What To Buy This Week

Six ways to spend your wages wisely this week

28/07/2015

1 | Tommy Hilfiger Shoes

As a brand, Tommy Hilfiger is about as American as they come, but they’ve really ramped up the Ivy League stakes now by enlisting the help of US darlings, Olivia Palermo and Johannes Heubl. The couple has guest edited a selection of pieces from the AW15 collection, and Johannes, a recent addition to the stellar front-row lineup at London Collections, has singled out some really great pieces, each with quite a formal bent. These suede double monkstraps are just the ticket if you’re planning a drinks reception in the Hamptons, for example.

We don’t just have autumn/winter and spring/summer collections these days, we have capsule collections, collaborations, cruise collections, pre collections… the list goes on. Complicated, yes. But joyfully, it means there’s a constant stream of new clothes to look at. With that in mind, consider YMC’s pre-A/W15 collection, because it features this lightweight double zip jacket.

What’s more, we caught up with YMC founder Fraser Moss at his recent S/S16 show at LCM, which was very good indeed. Here’s what he had to say:

"We’ve subtly moved on again with S/S16, but without anyone noticing too much I hope!

"The baseball collar proved very popular, so we’ve advanced it further, using it in luxury shirting and outerwear. It’s a neckline that hasn’t been around for a while – it drapes well and it’s easy to layer.

"The two jackets with the baseball neckline are my favourite pieces, and I love the boiler suit, but I might be too old to pull that off. I’d look like a dustman. I know there’s a lot of people that would wear it – whether the buyers are confident enough to get it into their stores is another thing…"

With the new abundance of premium swimwear, brands have to set themselves apart from the competition. One of the ways Orlebar Brown does it is through collaboration. In the past they’ve joined forces with the likes of photographer Gray Marlin, designer Emilio Pucci and even literary publication Paris Review. The latest teaming-up sees the brand work with Italian architect and artist Marcello Morandini, printing a series of his monochromatic designs onto their Setter and Bulldog shorts, as well as a series of short and long sleeve T-shirts.

The aim at Glasgow-based design studio INSTRMNT is simple; to create minimalist, high quality goods that are accessible to all. This watch, the 01 Series, is a perfect example. It looks great, and the Swiss-made movement and PVD-coated steel case give it the heft it needs to perform, but the strap might just be the best thing about it. Made in one of the last remaining Bavarian leather workshops, each one goes through a 14-stage process, with many of which performed on machinery that’s been in use for the past century or so.

Finding luggage that successfully fuses function and form is tricky, but newly established brand Gladstone London seems to have nailed it right off the bat. Though the designs seem thoroughly modern, they are in fact inspired by specific luggage creations of old. The brand name, for example, alludes to the two-sectioned bag made famous by 19th Century prime minister William Gladstone. The G1, seen here, is a Victorian laundry bag reimagined in dyed-through calfskin and finished in pewter hardware.

Remember your PE teacher, the one with the short shorts, baggy Aztec print shell suit and the mullet? Well he’s cool now. Or at least that’s what the new A/W15 campaign from heritage sportswear brand Admiral suggests. The company that created some of football’s most iconic kits (England ’82, for example) has just launched a new style-led AW15 collection, and we’re rather taken with it. If your Sunday league team is lacking that stylish edge and you want to take post-match drinks to full Liverpool Spice Boy status, here’s your answer.